By aspect — in detail
Power
Strong consensus · 7 srcThe least arguable thing about it, and the reason it gets recommended so freely. 4.8 W into 32 ohms from a $219 box is more than most of the class manages, and unusually both jacks deliver it — the 4-pin XLR adds Halo, not headroom. Reviewers drove Susvaras, HEDDphone 2s and HD 650s without running out, and one measured more into 300 ohms than Schiit claims. The single recurring caveat is at the very bottom of the impedance range, where the protection circuit intervenes early, and at the very top of the volume range with the least efficient planars, where the pot runs out before the amp is embarrassed.
“Most important test here is power and the Midgard has plenty of it”
amirm · Audio Science Review
“it effortlessly handled the HIFIMAN Susvara without any signs of strain”
Petros Laskis · ichos-reviews
“Protection circuit kicks in before the amp even clips at lower impedances!”
amirm · Audio Science Review
Measured
Schiit rates 5.5 W into 16 ohms, 4.8 W into 32, 3.2 W into 50, 750 mW into 300 and 375 mW into 600, with two gain settings (0 dB and +14 dB). ASR's bench confirms ample output on both jacks and measured about 822 mW into 300 ohms, above the published figure; distortion stays extremely low right up to the point the protection circuit lifts the output. Output impedance is under 0.1 ohm at the 1/4-inch jack but approximately 2 ohms at the 4-pin XLR, because Halo senses current through a series resistor there.
⚠ vs. listeners — Everyone agrees the headroom is there; the only friction is that ASR judged the protection circuit to intervene sooner than necessary into low impedances, while reviewers running normal loads never reached that limit.
Quiet in practice, and the Alps RK27 potentiometer is the reason people mention it — channel tracking holds together at the very bottom of the dial, which is where cheap amps usually fall apart with sensitive in-ears. Reviewers report silence with a Campfire Andromeda and a FiiO FX15. The bench is a shade more reserved: noise is above average rather than exceptional, and there is no negative-gain setting to buy extra margin. Separately, and only outside the US, a handful of owners on 230 V mains report a ground-loop buzz audible when touching the volume knob — not the amp's own noise floor, but worth knowing if you are not in North America.
“Sound-wise, it drives Andromeda with no issues and no noise is audible. Dead quiet.”
Michał Sommerfeld · Ear Fidelity
“no background noise is audible even when using highly sensitive earphones such as the FiiO FX15”
Petros Laskis · ichos-reviews
“Still, this is above average performance.”
amirm · Audio Science Review
“When I touch the volume pot my headphone makes a buzzing noise about 30db.”
ColdsnapBry · Super Best Audio Friends
Measured
Schiit specifies SNR above 128 dB on low gain referenced to 4 V RMS. ASR measured distortion and noise below the threshold of hearing at full 4 V output and called channel balance surprisingly good for an analog pot, but placed noise only above average at the sensitive-IEM end, noting the amp offers no negative gain setting to improve it.
⚠ vs. listeners — Listeners consistently report dead silence with sensitive IEMs while the bench rates the noise floor as merely above average. Both hold: the Alps pot's low-level tracking and the modest 0 dB low-gain setting deliver real-world quiet even though there is no negative-gain position to extend the margin further.
Transparency
Contested · 10 srcThe one real argument, and an unusually well-instrumented version of the oldest question in electronics. Nobody disputes the amplifier itself: the bench puts it near state of the art, and listeners across both camps describe it as clean, neutral and uncoloured. The split is over Halo — whether folding the driver into the feedback loop does anything you can hear. Because Schiit gave measurement rigs away instead of publishing proof, this got tested three times independently, and the results do not line up with the listening reports.
Measured
The amplifier measures near state of the art on the bench — flat response, extremely low multitone and wideband distortion, noise and distortion below audibility at 4 V out. On Halo specifically, three independent acoustic experiments exist. Amir compared XLR and 1/4-inch through an HD 650 and found no reliable difference. Pragmatic Audio ran 90 MiniDSP EARS measurements across a planar, a dynamic and an IEM and found no significant difference. Bruce White measured four headphones on the same rig class and found identical frequency response on every one, but a small, consistent distortion reduction on three low-impedance dynamic drivers — and none on the high-impedance HD 800S — visible only above about 100 dB SPL.
⚠ vs. listeners — The two camps are not simply talking past each other. solderdude's circuit analysis on the ASR thread predicts that a roughly 2-ohm sense resistor can barely influence a 300-ohm load, so Halo should do nearly nothing on high-impedance headphones and most on low-impedance dynamics — which is precisely the pattern the one positive measurement found. That reconciles the measurements with each other, but not with the listening reports: the effect reviewers describe is a large change in staging and openness, and the largest measured effect is about 0.3 dB of THD at concert volume. One forum analysis offers a rival explanation nobody has tested — that the 4-pin output's better channel isolation, not Halo, is what widens the stage.
Where it splits
Halo is audible — the 4-pin output is more open and spacious40%
“The balanced output is quite remarkable. The sound is very much solid-state but with a very spacious headstage.”
purr1n · Super Best Audio Friends
A small real reduction in distortion, but almost certainly below audibility12%
“it looks like it does give a small, ~0.3db, advantage in THD for some headphones. Would that be audible? I doubt it.”
Bruce White · headphones.com forum
Generous where it counts and stubborn where it does not. Two inputs and two outputs, balanced and single-ended, two gain settings, and full power from both headphone jacks — for $219 that is a lot of connectivity, and the preamp outputs make it a complete desktop hub for powered monitors. The complaint is unanimous and easy to fix: those preamp outputs never mute when you plug in headphones, so speakers keep playing unless you switch them off yourself. There is also no remote, no 4.4 mm jack, and no DAC option at all.
“It also has balanced and single-ended preamp outputs, so you can connect to powered monitors for a complete system.”
Schiit Audio
“The preamp outputs can’t be turned off, that is the biggest con of this amplifier”
Michał Sommerfeld · Ear Fidelity
“Headphones will not mute preamplifier outputs”
Petros Laskis · ichos-reviews
Measured
Balanced XLR and RCA inputs, balanced XLR and RCA preamp outputs (75 ohms), 1/4-inch TRS and 4-pin XLR headphone outputs, gain of 0 dB or +14 dB, 50k input impedance. The preamp outputs are live at all times by the maker's own description, and the 4-pin XLR is a Halo connector rather than a balanced one.
Ergonomics
Moderate · 5 srcSimple to the point of being terse, and the volume control is the star — the Alps RK27 draws praise from essentially everyone for its taper and its low-level channel tracking. The gripes are small, familiar Schiit gripes: the power switch lives on the back, the front panel is labelled with symbols rather than words, and the two toggle switches feel less substantial than the rest of the box. Heat is a non-issue; owners describe it as barely warm.
“The potentiometer offers a smooth rotating action without any audible scratching noises”
Petros Laskis · ichos-reviews
“Power switch forever seems to stay in the back on Schiit products despite lower usability.”
amirm · Audio Science Review
“The only thing I don’t like is the two switches on the front. They feel kind of wobbly”
Michał Sommerfeld · Ear Fidelity
“the top never gets anything more than pleasantly warm”
mlsstl · Head-Fi
Measured
ASR measured channel balance as surprisingly good for an analog potentiometer — the Alps RK27 is the same part Schiit uses in the far pricier Jotunheim 2 and Mjolnir 3. Power draw is 3 W idle and 16 W maximum, in a 9 x 6 x 1.5-inch chassis fed by an external 14–16 VAC wall transformer.
Consistently rated above its price. An all-metal chassis assembled in Texas on boards made in California or Nevada, real Neutrik connectors, Alps signal switches, MELF resistors, a linear supply and a 2-year warranty. Two caveats recur: the finish is plain black sheet metal rather than the machined aluminium some similarly priced rivals offer, and the front 4-pin XLR jack lacks bracing, so it can flex when you plug a headphone in. A small number of owners outside North America have also reported a mains-related ground-loop buzz.
“The Midgard exudes the characteristic Schiit Audio build quality.”
Pragmatic Audio
“Full metal chassis, nothing to complain really.”
Michał Sommerfeld · Ear Fidelity
“Sadly, the 4-pin XLR headphone connector can bend inside when plugging headphones.”
Michał Sommerfeld · Ear Fidelity
“comparably priced Chi-Fi products often sport a machined aluminum chassis”
Petros Laskis · ichos-reviews
The broadest praise in the set, and it does not depend on believing in Halo — the power, the parts, the connectivity and the US manufacturing are treated as a bargain on their own, with reviewers reaching for superlatives and ASR adding it to its recommended list. The dissent is narrow and worth hearing: it is an entry-level step up, so if you already own good gear the ceiling arrives quickly, and buyers hoping the unproven feature is what they are paying for may be paying for nothing.
“I continue to be impressed by Schiit's ability to keep up with far east manufacturers on both performance and pricing.”
amirm · Audio Science Review
“It’s the best bang for the buck I’ve seen in my life.”
Michał Sommerfeld · Ear Fidelity
“An affordable and serious competitor”
GoldenSound · The Headphone Show
“In terms of sound quality, definitely not even close to what the best amplifiers can do.”
tvrboy · Head-Fi
